To Fall Into Darkness and Back Again
by lmarie4401
Summary: This is a story of Lilliana, a young women who ends up in middle earth due to a freak accident. (Fili OC)
1. Chapter 1

**This is my first fanfiction and I do not know if this story is any good or not so I would love to hear comments. I only take credit for my characters and the other characters belong to Tolkein. **

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My name is Lilliana Montecalvo. I am for all intents and purposes a normal thirty year old single woman, even though others do not agree. I have been told I am quite attractive, but beauty is determined through the eyes of everyone differently, so I do not see it. My hair is light golden brown with blonde highlights running through it, my eyes change colors from a deep hunter green to brown which I know is strange, and I stand at about 5'4". I have lived up and down the northern east coast my entire life. I have attempted to keep my life normal and sane. These attempts have been in vain since when I finally find some peace and normalcy something always seems to happen and the last event hit the jackpot which was waking up in Middle Earth.

My reasons for ending up here I still do not understand. My life was nothing special and just as everyone else I had experienced many ups and downs. My childhood was slightly troubled. I spent a lot of my time and effort avoiding my entire family from the time I was in middle school until I moved out. Not that my family was made up of bad people. They just all hated each other so to get away from the fighting I was never home. Then after graduating high school I moved out with a boyfriend who not long after became my husband. During my early twenties I spent my time being reckless and drunk which was how my husband enjoyed spending his free time.

One day I woke up and decided that my current lifestyle provided no quality of life so I went back to school, got a divorce from my drunken abusive husband and became involved in my local church. At 27 years old I finally graduated from nursing school with the highest GPA in the class. That did not happen because I was smart. That happened because I was so scared of failing and feeling that this was my last chance to get myself on my feet that my head never came out of the books. After graduating I moved back home and now I have my own house. As an adult I am now close to my family; and yes they still all hate each other. My brother and sister have made me an aunt which is a job I love. I get to enjoy them and then give them back at the end of the day. Life became quite great. I had no desire for the company of a man and loved to spend my free time with my books. Life finally was peaceful and I was happily living alone and was completely self-sufficient until again everything was turned upside down. This is the story of how fate had something else in mind.


	2. Chapter 2

"Oh my God! It has got to be time to go home." I think to myself. I quickly look at the clock on the wall and it is 0800. "Yes, I am just getting done with the charting on my patients and have finished giving report. So I can finally go home…All done." I say to myself. I am on my third 12 hour night shift in a row at a hospital in my county where I work as a nurse. And yes, it is normal for nurses to talk out loud to themselves. It is a strange habit most of us share, but with to do lists that keep piling up during the day it is just something we tend to do. As usual it had been another stressful shift since we lost another young patient at only 40 years age last night. It was unfortunately expected since their liver was shot from being an alcoholic for more years then they could count. You would think that as a nurse I would get used to death, sorrow and pain, but that is not the case. Nurses might appear calm and hardened by the suffering that we see on a daily basis, but when we walk out those hospital doors we mourn every lost life, and pray for every patient since they all touch us in some way. One of our coping methods for this is to have a dark sense of humor that mostly only healthcare workers understand.

I run to the break room that I never get to visit during my shifts. It is more like a storage closet where we dump our things until we leave. When I have everything I am running out and, great, there is Martha. I try and duck down another hall. She is a nurse who is the mother of three little ones and just because I do not have kids she thinks I am always available to cover her shifts for ballet recitals and football games. Do not get me wrong, the extra money is great, but I do need to sleep. I manage to get off the floor using another elevator and I finally step out into the morning air. "Oh, I cannot wait to get to my bed!" It is late September and it still has not cooled down much from the summer and the trees all still have their leaves. After a ten minute drive I pull into my two story old colonial that I fixed up myself and am still working on. My dad is very handy and I was the youngest and none of my other siblings took interest in his home improvement projects so I got forced into it; guess he figured this is his last chance. So since he taught me how to do home remodeling projects he talked me into buying a fixer upper. I had a gut feeling it would be a bad idea, but now I am stuck with it. Working nights, sleeping during the day, and then being constantly involved with my church, family obligations, friends, taking some me time, and being the cool aunt did not leave much time for painting and putting in new floors. At least the old place has character.

When I walk into my house I drop my keys in a bowl I keep by the door. Then I head into the kitchen where I practically inhale a bowl of cereal and head upstairs. When I get up there I peel my scrubs off. I shut my shades and black curtains which make my room as dark as night and I jump into bed. In a second I am on the bed and have passed out. Many hours later I peek out from my sheets only with one eye and look at the time. It is already 8 pm, but now it is the start of my day, or night. It all becomes jumbled together and I enjoy being up at night. As I have become older I have decided that I enjoy the stillness of the evenings and nights over the day which is also why I choose to work night shifts.

Knowing I should not sleep any longer I tried to wake up but my eyes fought all my efforts to open them until I decided to just try rolling out of bed. Usually I land on my feet except this time I landed on the floor. So graceful. It took a few minutes for my eyes to adjust to the light I turned on and then I proceeded to waddle towards the bathroom thinking a shower might get me out of my zombie like state. At first I turned the temperature to hot, but as usual since I have a low tolerance to heat I just readjusted it to a cooler setting and that did the trick. Eyes were now open and I was ready to eat and go do whatever I could think of. It is not like places were open any later then 9 pm on a Thursday.

Then I thought maybe I would go for a walk. Going for a walk would normally seem unsafe in most places at night for a woman especially alone, but I bought this house in one of the safest towns in the state. After stepping out of the shower I brushed my long hair that went half way down my back. I hardly ever blow dry it and usually just let it air dry in its usual loose waves. I decided to wear my favorite straight leg dark wash jeans and a red long sleeve shirt with my black military style boots. Before putting on the clothes I viewed the artwork I had inked on my body. After a divorce I went through a few years ago I ended up getting two tattoos done. One went from my left shoulder blade down to my elbow. It was of vines that crawled down my arm with flowers and butterflies mixed in it. It is gray, black, and purple and is definitely one of a kind. I even have old ladies stopping me to view it and compliment the piece. The other tattoo includes an antique padlock heart and key with poppies that weave down my upper right hip to the upper part of my thigh. Both tattoos are quite large and I wonder if I will ever regret them, but as of yet I have not.

Before heading down stairs I look at my phone and notice I have four missed calls with messages. Why do people think I will be available to talk after a night shift I have no clue. Even when I tell them I am sleeping they still call which is why I got rid of the land line. At least with a cell phone when I come home I shut it off so when people call I do not have to hear it. The first message is from my sister Amelia asking if I wanted to go out for lunch. Guess I missed that one, the second one if from my mom asking why in am not picking up my phone as usual, and the third was from my mom as well. "Why can she not get a boyfriend or something," I think to myself. I love her, but since she has retired and I am the only one of her children without kids so she thinks I am readily available. The last one is from my friend who wants to hook me up with someone" Great."

The only message I decide to respond to is my friend Rebecca. We met about five years ago in college and just hit it off. She knew me when I was married and thinks I should be dating someone by now since it has been three years. This is something I do not agree with. I dial her number and she picks up sounding very enthusiastic about something. "Hey Lily... So what are you doing tomorrow night?"

Knowing she might be up to something I try to think of anything that I can say so I sound like I have plans. "Oh, I have a freelance writing job I need to finish up... It might take me all day tomorrow and a good part of the night." Feeling good about this and knowing it is not a lie I figure it will work. During my free time I do work as a freelance writer and I do have an article to write tomorrow.

"Well Lily, you will make sure you have that done by 7 pm tomorrow because I have this friend and I think you guys would be perfect for each other. You have to meet him!" She screams in my ear.

Oh, how to nicely decline I think to myself, probably just telling the truth will do. "Rebecca, I don't know about this... The last one was a disaster. I'm just not interested in dating at this time in my life. I've done the whole dating and marriage thing already as you remember "I responded trying to not sound annoyed since this is the second time this week this topic has come up with her.

Hearing her sigh in frustration with me her tone and enthusiasm calmed down as she figured she would try another approach. "You have to just meet him... That is all I ask. We will even go out in a group to ease any pressure..." Rebecca even started begging after that and further said something to make me feel guilty until I reluctantly agreed. As soon as I hung up I closed my eyes and took in a deep breath and thought" Everything is ok, this is not a date, and there is no pressure here." These are the lies I told myself. I knew she means well and that I just can't lock myself away in my house so I guess this could not hurt anything.

I put my phone on my night stand and got up from the edge of my bed to head downstairs. The thought of having a large meal and stretching my legs for a walk sounded even better after my conversation with Rebecca, but the walk would be first. I needed to think and I did that best when I went for a walk. I finished getting dressed and put my small wallet in my black small purse as well as my cell phone. I checked to make sure I had everything. I then headed for the stairs and my mind was preoccupied with the details of the "date" tomorrow night. There is also the fact that I am still recovering from being overworked I still just felt exhausted, but not the kind that sleep takes care of.

Thinking of all these details I ended up missing a step as I ran down the stairs. Unfortunately this is not the first time I have done this. This led me into tumbling down the stairs. The difference with this time is that I really was rolling down hard and fast. The nape of my neck hit the edge of a step towards the bottom and I landed on my side. On impact with the step I heard a crack before landing and agonizing searing pain soon followed in my neck and back. This was obviously not good. I dazed out for a second or maybe more after the fall and woke up feeling soft ground and grass below me. This thought escaped me as I was taken again back into the darkness of my unconscious where everything went quiet.


	3. Chapter 3

Eventually I felt my mind waking up and I was wondering if I was dead since I felt no pain as I knew I should with a fall like that. I heard a deep male grunt from over my head followed by breathing. "Someone was in my house!" I thought. I forced my eyes open and looked up above my head. There staring back at me was the largest man I have ever seen with dark hair all over his body, and "Why is he almost naked. He had to be ten feet tall."I thought. So I did as any sane person would do in a case like this. I screamed bloody murder and completely went into fight or flight mode. Even though it was more flight then fight.

As quickly as I could I jumped up and screamed quickly realizing that I am not in my house but in a barn with animals and there is way oversized furniture. "What the hell... Have I been transported to wonderland here?" Even though I wanted to get my bearing of where I was I felt that there was no time. I looked at this large man who came towards me and ran underneath the large table. He proceeded to following me around. Again while shamelessly screaming I ran to the other side of the table. This went on for a good fifteen minutes around this man's house until in a deep and intimidating voice this he yelled "Stop! Stay still."

Scared out of my mind I just froze in fear and tiptoed around to face him. He slowly came over and put his face at my level. "Miss, do not be scared, I will not hurt you" he paused appearing apprehensive about startling me and repeating the ridiculous chase again. He continued since I just stared at him my mouth wide open. "I found you outside injured. You hit your head which would explain this confusion. I will not hurt you. Can you tell me who you and where you hail from?"

"Um... M-my na-name is Lilliana, and I do not know what you mean by hail?" I stuttered. It was amazing I got that out.

"Where are you from?" he rephrased gently.

"I am definitely not from anywhere around here. I am from Massachusetts." I was proud I got that out without stuttering. I figured I would mention the state even though everyone has heard of Boston something told me this guy has not. "What is this place?" is all I could think of asking. This man was nothing I have ever seen before and this house looking like a barn on this inside part that I have seen makes me think it is in the middle of nowhere.

"My name is Beorn and this is my home and these are my lands… as far as this Massachusetts, I have never heard of this place you speak. I would say you are a long way home. Can you tell me what you last remember before you fell unconscious?" Beorn was obviously not trying to scare me so maybe I could trust this giant man. Now I was starting to think this was the afterlife and when I fell I sustained enough of head trauma that it killed me or maybe I was in a coma and was dreaming all this. I decided to just go with the flow and proceeded to tell him my story from where I am from and the events that led to my injury that then lead to me waking up in his home. He listened intently and looked genuinely sympathetic about my ordeal.

When I was done he sat in thought for a moment and then replied contemplating everything I have told him. "Definitely curious how you came here and how I found you. I thought you were going to die with such injuries, but within hours you recovered. It is as if you heal like the elves, but they do not even heal that quickly and your ears are not pointed."

He continued on until I registered what he said and I interrupted "Elves? What are those real here... "Being more confused now I slid down the wall which was at my back and plopped down on the floor and just stared at my feet. This is not good. I looked up digesting this as Beorn looked at me with concern and I asked "Can you please tell me what this place is?" I was definitely losing it. Yep, definitely.

Beorn proceeded to tell me about this world called Middle Earth and I just knew there was no way I was alive still. He told me about elves, humans, hobbits, giant spiders, orcs, and goblins. Something sounded so familiar with all of this. I just could not exactly remember so I shrugged it off.

Beorn also did not believe that I was a human and decided I was a race that he has never seen before. He ended up letting me stay and enjoyed my company. He also said that he found my reactions funny such as when I looked shocked from the giant bee buzzing around my head. Those things are the size of mice… it's so wrong. Luckily the bees did not bother me since I was not allergic. I actually enjoyed this place. There was so much to see and explore. Beorn found that I had an expansive knowledge and interest with healing so he taught me even more such as what different herbs are used since on Earth we just use prescription medications in the hospitals. He also admired my strong love for animals and my enjoyment of solitude which were traits that he shared as well. To top it all off Beorn was correct in saying that I seemed completely healed. I felt no pain and there were no residual effects from hitting my head which normally occur with head trauma.

A week after arriving I still felt lost even though Beorn made me feel welcomed. His home and animals were all amazing. The animals would wait on us and help us with chores. I could not help but think how nice it would have been if my cat back on Earth could have been this helpful. He even had some of the most beautiful horses I have ever seen. Ever since I was a child I had a strong love for horses. I used to go horseback riding and knew how to saddle, groom, and care for them. There was one in particular that I was drawn to and she would follow me around wherever I went. She was about 16 hands high with a black mane and tail and her body was a deep gray color.

One afternoon I was standing outside by a steam just behind the house with this beautiful horse. She nuzzled me with her nose and it made me smile. Beorn must have been watching because out of nowhere he appeared. "This mare likes you" he inquired.

"She is good company and loyal" is all I thought to say as I kept petting her nose.

"Then you can have her. She is a gift. Care for her well and she will do the same for you."

I was so touched I did not know what to say. So I replied with what was logical with that being "thank you".

"It is no trouble at all..." he paused looking as if there was something he was debating about telling me or not. "We will have a visitor soon. There is a wizard that will be traveling this way named Radagast. He is odd, but is a true friend and guardian to the animals of these woods. He will arrive in a day." Beorn took one last look at us, smiled, and walked away.

After processing what he said I thought to myself "now there are wizards". What kind of world is this? Maybe this is more like Harry Potter then Wonderland. After wandering around Beorn's lands with the horse following me and nibbling at my pockets for treats, I was thinking I should give her a name. Looking at her I thought maybe a simple name like "Betty" no that is something more suited for a cow. Then I thought of other simple names until I thought maybe Cimmerian. It seemed to fit. I asked her while I ran my finger along her mane. Cimmerian is a word referring to mythical creatures that lived in the dark or gloomy colors. Since she was black and gray I thought it would fit. "How about I call you Cimmerian?" She whinnied at my question "I will just take that as a yes." I said and we kept walking enjoying the stillness of these lands and eventually I decided to retire to bed for the night where I went to sleep thinking "what is a wizard like?"


	4. Chapter 4

The next morning I woke up in my makeshift bed of straw and blankets that Beorn rigged up for me. I think I hid in this bed for the first two days after waking up and discovering he is a skin changer and would transform into a huge bear whenever he wanted. I think this response by me was justified since turning into a giant bear at will is completely normal and not scary.

As I woke I rubbed my eyes sleepily and gazed into the kitchen from the bed since I heard a conversation going on. "Could it be we have company? Oh yea, the wizard must have arrived earlier than expected" I thought to myself. My excitement to meet a wizard was like a child going to meet Santa Claus for the first time so I shot up out of bed and got on my feet thinking that "I'm off to see the wizard." Deciding that it would not be smart to bolt over there I slowed my pace and peaked around the barn stall. These were only temporary accommodations Beorn told me. He was actually working on a room for me even though I told him this was more than fine, but he insisted. Beorn saw me peaking around and signaled me to join them.

So this is a wizard I thought as Beorn proceeded with introductions. "This is Radagast the Brown and this is Lilliana."

He greeted me with a lopsided grin and bowed "Pleasure to finally meet you Miss Lilliana."

This wizard had manners, but what he had in manners he lacked in personal hygiene. Radagast is a little man and wore old tattered brown clothes, had a long beard and hair that looks like it has never been washed and bird droppings going down his face. He took his hat off too "And look at that… there is a birds nest with birds under there. This explains the bird feces" I thought to myself. I was more than startled, but as all nurses in strange situations I kept my composure. Assessing him further I noted that even in his disheveled appearance he had kind eyes and was very gentle. After introducing myself and talking with him for a while I decided I liked him putting hygiene aside.

After an hour of talking to Radagast I felt comfortable explaining to him about my situation. As I told him all the details he looked at me sympathetically. "Miss Lilliana, speaking with you and Beorn and how you came to be here is partly why I came to visit. I heard about your arrival two weeks ago from the animals in the forest. Now after talking to you I fear the news is true and it seems that you are not from this world and it concerns me why you are here." He looked now like he was planning something and I wish I knew of his knowledge of my arrival beforehand.

Thinking that he came all the way here because of this maybe he knows what is going on and came help me. He is a wizard. "If you know this do you have any clue of why I am here and what has happened to me? "I asked. I might get some answers finally was all I was thinking as I further rambled on with questions until Radagast spoke interrupting. "I do not know how you came here or why, but my cousin Gandalf and the elves of Rivendell might. I offer you the option of coming with me where Galdalf will take you to Rivendell where they might find answers to these questions you seek."

Hearing his offer I felt excited and hopeful for the first time since I woke up in Beorn's house. Maybe my questions will get answered and bring clarity to this crazy situation. Maybe I can go back home. While processing all of this I glanced at Beorn who upon hearing this offer from the wizard looked disappointed. This made me wonder if I should stay since I have grown to care for this large man who has been nothing but kind to me. I needed answers though.

"When would we be leaving?" I ask Radagast disrupting the silence in the room.

He looked up at me and said "I will be back in a week to take you. I just need to finalize this with Gandalf."

"Then I will see you in a week" I replied looking down at my hands. I noticed I was picking my cuticles which is a nervous habit that I always have had.

"Make sure you are all packed and ready when I arrive. It will be a three day trip from there on a horse. My rabbits can make the trip in half that time" Radagast announced proudly.

This got my attention and I glanced at him and asked thinking my ears have mistaken me. "Rabbits...?"

"Why yes. They are Rhosgobel rabbits. There is no other breed of rabbits faster in Middle Earth."

This had to be some joke. Noone goes around riding rabbits. So as nicely as possible I inquire "How do you ride on a rabbit?"

This question immediately made him laugh as if I said something absurd. "My dear, no one can ride a rabbit. They pull a sleigh that I ride on" he said. As I became even more curious about this because obviously being pulled by rabbits made just as much sense as riding one. "Well look, it appears it is getting late so I think it is time that I leave. There is much to do "Radagast announced as he got up and made his way to the door. Beorn and I followed behind to escort our guest outside.

While walking him to the door I decided I had to see these rabbits and made a mental promise to myself to stop being surprised by all of these strange things I keep finding out about this new world. As we walked outside we said our good buys and he was not lying to me. He hoped on a sleigh that was being pulled by oversized rabbits. Now I have seen everything. It also seems my thought about Santa Clause earlier was not too far off either. The reality is just a more twisted version of Santa Clause which would thoroughly cause disappointment to children.

The rest of that day was rather quiet after all of that excitement. I spent the remaining part relaxing by the river in the back of his house as I tried to brush the knots out of my long hair with my fingers. I realized I have not looked in a mirror at my appearance in weeks. Not that I am vain, I usually never cared too much about what I looked like. My hair was always pulled back or I let it dry naturally. I also wore little if any makeup. I was just curious if coming here changed my appearance in my face. Some things have changed on my body which freaked me out. This I noticed when I first arrived and changed my clothes into something Beorn had. When I took off my clothes I noticed upon inspection of myself while looking for bruises from the fall there were drastic changes to my skin. All of my scars had vanished and the tattoos that I proudly displayed had expanded. The one on my right now cascaded down to the top of my right hand. As it went down from my shoulder the colors faded into pale tones of gray and purple and almost illuminated or shimmered. I think it went down my back too, but I cannot see at that angle even though I tried. The one on my thigh now weaves up my right flank area and down to just above my right knee. It has the same fading of colors as it expanded outward as the one on my arm except instead of purple it has shades of red and pink. They were absolutely beautiful, but seeing this made me wonder if there were any other changes that I have not been able to see yet.

The week went on as the previous weeks have except Beorn was spending less time in his bear form and more time with me. He did not mention anything about me leaving until the day before Radagast said he would arrive.

"Lillian, I want you to know that you do not have to go with Radagast." He said while sitting at the table staring into his oversized mug as we ate breakfast as we have every morning. I could see the sadness in his eyes.

I tried to think of a thoughtful response. "I know... And I would prefer not to, but I need to know why and how I came here. These questions haunt me."

We continued to sit there quietly knowing this would be the last time in a long time if ever we would sit and eat our morning meal at this table again in each other's company. "I understand" he said followed by a pause. "Just promise me that you will visit often and know you are always welcomed to return." This just made me smile and I happily agreed. It is nice to know you have someplace you are always welcomed.

Later he gave me a saddle with reins for Cimmerian that where made of black leather with silver stitching. He also helped me pack enough of food for the ride and I decided to take with me the clothes I came in which I have washed. Beorn gave me a black cape with a hood to use as a jacket in case it was cold or it rained. Now I was officially ready to leave for Rivendelle, which sounded oddly familiar, and I was terrified. I was going to meet elves and I was wondering what they would be like. As usual I went to bed late because I spent hours sitting under a tree outside gazing at the stars. Just like on earth I slept much of the time during the day and was up at night. Do to my nighttime habits Beorn teasingly nicknamed me "The Lady of Twilight."


	5. Chapter 5

That next morning Beorn woke me up early and we did one last check of my bags. It was too early for me to even want to eat breakfast since the sun was barely up. Think I am going on a few hours of sleep here I thought trying to keep my eyes opened. As I was saddling up Cimmerian over the horizon came the figure of a sled being pulled by the large rabbits. This is going to take some time to get used to. The sled with rabbits did move fast and were there in a matter of minutes. Radagast came to a stop and hopped off his sleigh and proceeded to come over to greet us.

"Good morning my friends, I see you are all ready to go." He said looking at me smiling approvingly. "We need to leave now though, I have felt darkness in those woods and want to get you there safely." He added. I just nodded in understanding as I tightened one last bag onto Cimmerian. What does he mean by darkness I thought? Later I will need to ask.

I went over to Beorn and he gave me a gentle hug or gentle for him. The wind was squeezed out of me as I pounded his back to let him know he was holding me too tightly where I could not even speak. As I got my breath back I mounted Cimmerian and we took off in the direction Radagast came from. While I still had Beorn's house in view I looked over my shoulder and felt a sense of loss. I have been saying farewell to too many homes lately. I thought that this place more than any other felt like home because in all my life with having a crazy family and living alone I never knew I could feel so at peace in someone else's company.

After traveling for two days I was sore and we were finally stopping to camp for the night. Getting off of Cimmerian this time was tricky since my legs were so cramped and when I did get off I walked funny for an hour. This night was very quiet where no crickets or wildlife was heard at all. Radagast seemed a little disturbed by the silence. After setting up the fire and eating some roasted vegetables I was thinking back to what he said about darkness. "Radagast, what did you mean when we were leaving Beorn's and you mentioned that you felt darkness?" Radagast looked at me understanding I would not be aware of this part of Middle Earth's history since I have only been there for a short time. He told me about the evil Sauron and the battle that occurred. He also explained magic both good and evil that was in Middle Earth.

Now having a better understanding of the light and dark forces that inhabited Middle Earth my mind wandered to where Radagast was taking me. He had not divulged much information about Rivendell or Gandalf. I broke the comfortable silence that set in and asked "What is Gandalf like?"

Registering my question and looking up as if the answer was above his head he stated "He is very wise and has traveled all over Middle Earth. Gandalf knows of all the races and creatures of this land. You will be in good hands and there is no need to fear young one."

That for me was not really an answer but I knew that was all I was getting and I just let it end with that. Sleep did not come easily that night. These woods were different and the stories Radagast told me spooked me a bit. These woods did have an eerie feeling to them and something did not feel right. It was way too quiet, but sleep did eventually find me.

The next morning I woke with a stiff neck from sleeping on the ground the past couple of nights. We packed up and started riding onwards as I followed behind those damn rabbits. And No, I am not getting used to the idea of rabbits and sleighs as a transportation option. This wizard, even though eccentric and strange, in many ways has grown on me though. He reminded me of the elderly patients that I cared for that I grew to love so tried to overlook the rabbits and the birds living in his hair. After many more hours of traveling his sleigh came to an abrupt stop. He looked around "We are here... This is where you leave with Gandalf my dear." He said.

Looking around I did not see anyone. "Is he here" I asked curiously taking in my surroundings. Being that he is another wizard I did not know what to expect.

An answer to my question came from a man that was on a large brown horse that rode out from the thick brush up ahead. He was wearing a gray robe, a large gray hat and had a long beard and hair that was mixed with both gray and white. "I am here..." he paused to look at me. " You must be the Lady Lilliana I have heard so much about" he said while he still inspected me.

"I am... And you must be Gandalf the Grey." I said while inspecting him too. He seemed very wise and kind.

We said good bye to Radagast and we were on our way. As I was riding away from Radagast I was thinking how kind he has been to me as well and I hoped I would get to see him again. Riding with someone on another horse was a little easier though then following a sleigh with rabbits. In just a half a day more of riding we went over the last hill and went through a rocky passageway. Walking into the opening past the mouth of the passageway was the most beautiful view I have ever witnessed. It was a city that radiated with light. "This Lady Lilliana is Rivendell, the last homely house east of the sea. Here you will stay as we help find why you are here."

"Wow", was all I managed to let out with eyes wide in amazement.

After taking in the view for another minute we rode Into Rivendell and I saw my first elf which was not what I pictured. As children they have lied to us. They were not cute beings the size of children. They were tall and graceful with an ethereal presence. This place just held one surprise after another. As we got closer I started feeling a little light headed which I found strange and the more elves I was around the more talking I heard, but there lips were not moving. "Now what" is all I thought. As we made our way past the entrance the elves took our horses and I was assured Cimmerian would be well taken care of. I followed Gandalf through many passageways and staircases with each new turn having its own unique amazing view. It took all my focus to not run into a wall while taking in the beauty of this place. Eventually I followed Gandalf through a set of double doors that where intricately carved and stood about ten feet high. Beyond these doors was a large study where an elf radiating authority stood to greet us.

Still hearing a lot of talking in my head Gandalf finally spoke which brought me back into focus but it was difficult since I was still hearing voices in my head, voices that were not mine. It was distracting. "Lady Lilliana" Gandalf addressed to me "This is Lord Eldrond. Lord Eldrond this is our lady who has caused all the commotion in Middle Earth with her strange and unexpected arrival."

"What is that supposed to mean" I thought. Ignoring Gandalf's last comment I said hello and took a seat as requested. Both the wizard and the lord had many questions. I proceeded to tell them the story of how I fell down the stairs in my world, and then woke up in Beorn's house and about my stay with him. I even included the change in my tattoos and lifted my left sleeve up so they could see. They tried asking me more questions, but the loud voices I was hearing were becoming way to distracting. And with Gandalf bombarding me with questions I just said " Is there somewhere more quiet we can talk, I cannot think with all of this loud talking going on around here." Of course I asked this as politely as possible, but it was annoying. How could anyone be productive or concentrate with all of this noise.

Looking confused Gandalf leaned in and replied "My dear, it is only us here and there is no one speaking but us. What are you hearing?"

I explained that when we arrived I started to hear lots of talking or voices that were not mine and I assumed it was people talking because it was not my voice in my head. Now I'm thinking, great, I am going psycho, now voices, what's next.

Lord Eldrond looking even more curious interjected "My lady, do I have your permission to try an experiment to see where these voices might originate from."

Not wanting to be used as a lab rat I reluctantly agreed knowing that if he might have an idea that would explain what was going on than I would at least try. He came and sat down next to me and said "I want you to close your eyes and only concentrate on my presence. I am going to put my hand on your shoulder. Tell me everything you hear."

As directed I closed my eyes and concentrated on just him as he put his hand on my shoulder. "Are you hearing my voice right now?" I hear him say.

I respond "Of course I do". I'm thinking to myself why wouldn't I since my hearing is not the problem. I open my eyes and he looks at me fascinated, or concerned. Maybe a mixture of many things, but it's not a look you want to receive from someone when you feel like you are losing your mind. He removed his hand from my shoulder and looked at Gandalf "We need to send for Lady Galadriel. It seems that Lady Lilliana shares her gift in reading and communicating psychically."

Now I was about ready to lose it, but from being in many stressful situations in the past I appeared as calm as can be, but inside I was not at ease. "What do you mean I can communicate psychically? Is there something wrong?"

They both just looked at me for a second. "Nothing that can hurt you is wrong. It appears you coming to Middle Earth have caused changes that we do not quite understand yet. We have never seen this happen before. From what I just witnessed you can read and communicate with people through their mind. This would explain why you are hearing voices when no one is talking and this was not noticed at Beorn's most likely because of his animal side. As with Gandalf he is magically protected. This is most likely why these voices started when you arrived here. Lady Galadriel has the same gift and she might be able to help." And with that Lord Eldrond was done explaining things to me for today. He felt I have had enough for one day as I overheard him say through my mind!

He excused us and sent for a maid to escort me to chambers that were more isolated so my mind would not be overstimulated by the voices. "There has got to be a way to control it" I thought. Some of the things the elves were thinking were quite humorous though. I might be able to get used to this purely for entertainment purposes only. I followed behind the maid who led me to this beautiful room where everything was carved in stone. The fabrics and curtains were soft and there was a balcony with a gorgeous view of a waterfall. The bed was intricate and large and put the king sized beds that we had back on Earth to shame.

I discovered my maids name was Aelrue. She did not talk much and I tried not to hear her thoughts. She drew a bath for me and I gratefully thanked her for this kindness. As I stepped in the washroom I noticed that there was a large marble tub with soaps of all kinds in glass bottles available for my use. Next to the bath there was a polished floor length mirror. Not wanting to look at myself just yet I proceeded to tear all my clothes off and eased myself into the bath water. I soaked and scrubbed myself for about an hour until my skin looked like a prune. I also examined every product available and chose ones that smelled of lavender and vanilla.

After getting out of the tub and drying off I bravely decided now is the time to see what being transported to another world made you look like. Peering into the mirror I saw the tattoos which now covered much of my body. Again they were beautiful. The one on my right shoulder which went down my arm also went partially across my back as I expected. The startling thing was my skin though. It had become clear and it made me look younger which I will not complain about, but I always looked younger than what I was. My eyes also appeared brighter and the hunter green color was now mixed with slight specks of emerald green. At least it was not a huge difference. I was worried I looked freakish. Improved skin, brighter eyes, and fuller lips; I can live with that.

Wit feeling some relief just knowing I still kind of looked like me and not a complete different person I forgot about all my concerns with the voices and drifted off to sleep in the monstrosity of a bed.


	6. Chapter 6

**Just so it is easier to follow, anything being communicated psychically in this story will be made bold. I hope you enjoy this chapter. **

* * *

The next morning I woke up hearing a female voice in my room. **"This human girl is so lazy, it is noon and she is still asleep"**. Being alarmed at the voice and the insults I bolted up and looked to see the female elf that I was told would be my maid fussing about my room.

"Oh I see you are awake." She says without even looking at me. "I will bring you your breakfast or more like mid-day meal. In the closet there are clothes that Lord Eldrond had made for you as well."

Before I could say anything she was gone to already return with my meal. I eyed her up thinking guess they give me the maid that no one wanted. Knowing better from working with people I know I could not take her personally so I felt guilty from my previous thought. I decided to give her the benefit of the doubt and just take it that she is having a bad day that we all are entitled to once in a while. Curiously wondering why she had such an ill impression of me when I took the tray from her I said "Thank you for the food and assistance Aelrue." I waited for a response, but none came and again she did not acknowledge me. "If I am not being too bold in asking, but what is it that you know about me that makes you feel such negativity against me?" "And after not even a day how do you know that I am lazy?" I asked not wanting to deal with this day after day if we could settle it now.

The elf maid's perfect features were now lined with an expression of surprise from my question. "I do not feel anything negative towards you personally, it is just we elves do not usually associate yet along wait on others then those of our own race. I have heard that you arriving here can mean great changes in Middle Earth." Aelrue paused and added "And how did you know I thought you were lazy?"

With that out in the open we settled our differences. I decided since we would be spending much time together she had a right to know I can read her thoughts. I told her how I came to be here in Middle Earth and what I can do; such as read minds. She was more amazed then in shock as I thought she would be. "I am sorry you heard that." She said after realizing I heard her negative thoughts towards me. "I arrived after having a disagreement with my sister and in my frustration that thought must have come out. I see you are not merely a normal human."

With the apology out of the way we sat and talked for most of the day and even played with my new talent of reading minds. Seemed I could control it if I decided to and with practice it became easier. If I did not want to listen I could shut it off and if I wanted to then I could turn it on and focus on who I wanted to listen to. Learning to do this made my head more quiet so I eventually could leave my room with Aelrue. Aelrue and I became close friends and she reminded me of my friend Rebecca back on Earth.

The weeks continued with this relaxed schedule that included meetings with Lord Eldrond, but not with Gandalf for he left since he had other obligations to attend to. He promised he would be back to visit. A couple weeks into my stay at Rivendell Lord Eldrond himself showed up at my door to escort me somewhere. As we were approaching a balcony he asked me to listen and guess who we were meeting. I focused intently to the voices I heard in my head until I heard someone say **"Lady Lilliana, I have heard about your gift. Do I have permission to speak to you this way? I am Galadriel and was sent to help figure out why you are here." **

Being overwhelmed with joy I could not wait to meet her. Walking through the doors onto the balcony was a tall slender elf woman with long hair. She wore a pale blue dress that fell to the floor. I gave Galadriel permission to examine my head so to speak and she found all I said to be true with how I ended up there as well as my new talent. She even further showed me how to control how to psychically communicate with others. Seems I could communicate through images as well if I touched them.

After speaking with her a thought crossed my mind of something Beorn said to me when I first woke. He mentioned how I was near death when he found me and I remarkably recovered within hours. The Lady Galadriel overheard my thought **" My dear Lilliana, it seems that the changes you have experienced are many. You do not resemble the human race any more or the race of any that inhabits Middle Earth. Your transcendence here has caused you to acquire qualities of many of the races. This includes you self-healing ability, which probably will make you live a longer lifespan. Basically you will not age like man, but will age more slowly. Your energy seems most strong at night which makes Beorn's nickname for you rather appropriate."** Taking in this I cannot say I was shocked. Definitely felt slightly violated about her reading my more personal thought including Beorn's nickname for me, but I did give her permission to read my mind.

"**Are you saying I am no longer human?"** I asked.

The Lady Galadriel took my hand as if to give me grave news and just said **"No Lilliana, you resemble nothing here on Middle Earth or anything from the world you come from by what I have seen looking into your mind and memories." **So it seems I am not human. Then what am I? I have this strange healing ability and the longevity of what we do not know. So basically everything is still a mystery including the tattoo changes and the mind tricks.

After spending a week in Rivendell the Lady Galadriel went back from where she came leaving me with more questions than answers. I told Aelrue about her visit and the nickname "The Lady of Twilight" that Beorn gave me and the Lady Galadriel commented on. Seems Aelrue liked this nickname for it caught on after I told her since I started hearing it voiced in in the thoughts of the elves. Besides Aelrue and Lord Eldrond I spoke to no one in Rivendell much except for a few of the younger elves Aelrue introduced me too. I would not tell them my secrets though since I did not trust anyone. I have never been that trusting in my life.

Day to day life started getting boring so I started exploring the city more. One day while wandering Rivendell I discovered a field where I witnessed many elves practicing with bows, swords, and knives. Their combat moves were so graceful and lethal. I sat down on a step out of the way with a good view and just watched. As I was looking I heard a deep male voice from behind me "Are you the Lady Lilliana?"

I looked up to see a tall very handsome male elf with long brown hair and blue eyes. "Yes I am" I answered while looking him up and down. "And who might you be?"

He leaned down to give me his hand to help me stand, but he did not let it go. Instead he held it and kissed the top of my hand as he introduced himself. "I am Ruith, a distant cousin to Lord Eldrond. I noticed you watching the others practicing their fighting skills and wondered if you would like to join us?" He stared at me waiting for an answer when he added "I am a very good teacher, there is no reason to be concerned."

Thinking if sharp items in my hands where a good idea against my better judgment I agreed. Ruith was more than a good teacher. He was knowledgeable and skilled in all areas of combat, but was also more patient then anyone I have ever met which was helpful because I had no skill for combat. He helped with hand to hand combat, shooting a bow, and sword fighting. I preferred the sword fighting out of everything else except I did not like knife throwing. It seemed like such a waste of a perfectly good knife. You only get one use out of it and then it is gone.

The first few lessons were quite pathetic. Swords would fly out of my hands at will so I was a liability to anyone nearby. I could not block and sometimes when he would charge at me I would just run away. Somehow I shot myself with a bow even though Ruith said that was impossible, but I managed it. Eventually I started to get it.

Ruith and I spent almost every day training. We spent so much time training that it took months for us to develop a relationship where we would actually sit down and talk, but we soon became just as close as Aelrue and I were and I shared with him my secrets. Before I did this I checked with Aelrue and Lord Eldrond and both said he was trustworthy, but I wanted to make sure for myself. Of course he was shocked and he felt embarrassed of what I might have heard in his thoughts. "Lilliana, this is not funny what have you heard… how can you spend months with someone without telling them this bit of information first." He rambled on.

Of course I found this reaction hysterical since his face was red and he looked mortified by what secrets I might know. Let's face it, strange thoughts go through people's heads. "I did not hear anything Ruith. I do not listen into anyone's thought unless it is absolutely necessary or I have their permission. I have heard nothing." I assured him while trying to keep my composure. Eventually he believed me.

Luckily after that Ruith still kept training with me. Once I learned to defend myself I started leaving Rivendell to take trips into the wild. At first they forced me to go with a guard, but eventually I would go out by myself to visit Beorn and Radagast. Sometimes I would be gone for weeks. For two years I lived like this. I would stay in Rivendell to spend time with Lord Eldrond, Aelrue and Ruith. I would still train with Ruith when I was in Rivendell since he always had something new to teach me and I was not a quick study. At least I have not shot myself again…yet. It took many hours and weeks to just get the basics down. The rest of the time I would go out on my own to visit Radagast and Beorn, but also to just be alone in the wild.

Beorn when I would go visit was always so pleased. He even finished putting together my own room for when I visited. Radagast was always happy to see me too, but he had a habit of eating bad mushrooms and would go crazy from time to time. He turned into my crazy old grandpa that I never had. Sometimes I would just head out of Rivendell to just be alone and camp out in the wild for a couple weeks at a time. Rivendell and all the voices there sometimes got to be too much so I would need a separation from it at times.

On one of the days I was in Rivendell I spent hours with Ruith training and perfecting my fighting skills using twin blade swords. This was quite challenging, but I was determined and eventually made some headway. Basically I could wield them without cutting myself and that was good enough for one day. After we were done training for the day Ruith and I sat under a tree in one of the many gardens. We were watching the sunset when he reached over and handed me a set of twin blades which were quite beautiful. The blade part was a dark gray with a thick glossy black metal hilt embedded with silver and white gems. In the grip of the hilt there was an elvish engraving. "Ruith, what do these engravings mean?" I asked curiously.

He took the sword from my hand and examined the delicate engravings and he smiled. "This says Lady of Twilight, and the other sword says Traveler of Worlds." After a pause he handed them back to me. "They are a gift and I want you to have them. The engravings are what come to my mind when I think of you and I hope you like them and use them well… No cutting yourself with them!" he scolded me with a smile on his handsome face.

I punched him in the arm and laughed at his comment "I will try not to and that is all I can promise." I jested back. Overwhelmed by this kind gesture and never having been good at receiving gifts I took one last look at them, placed them on the ground and gave Ruith an overly excited thankful embrace. Basically I tackled him and knocked the wind out of him.

"They are beautiful... Thank you!"

He gently pushed me back from the embrace and looked into my eyes. He placed me next to him and grabbed my left hand and traced the lines of my tattoos on my forearm with his fingers as he has done so often before.

"They are not as beautiful as you though. Nothing can capture your beauty. These years it seems I have grown to care for you more than anything."

This relationship seems it might have taken a shift I was not ready for. Even though much has changed my desire to be single has not. But I know that friends care for each other too. It does not have have to be romantic love and I cared for Ruith as well. " I care for you too" I admitted and we sat there in a long comfortable silence.

This night did not repeat itself thankfully. Lord Eldrond after seeing the blades decided I needed a bow since I planned on taking off for a longer journey this time. I wanted to go to Radagast for while and then head towards the Shire since I recently read about hobbits and wanted to see more of Middle Earth. The morning I was leaving for this I put on my traveling clothes which included a deep purple long sleeve tunic with a gray leather corset completed with gray leggings, black boots which were similar to the ones I arrived with that laced all the way up. I also had a black cloak with a hood. I finished packing my bag which including more clothing, provisions, and some food. I saddled up Cimmerian and said good buy to Aelrue and Ruith. Right before I left Lord Eldrond presented me with a beautiful intricately carved black bow with silver a string and quiver. After graciously accepting and thanking him for the lovely gifts I was off to see the wizard.


	7. Chapter 7

As I left Rivendell I glanced back thinking I would be gone for a long time and would miss my friends, but I wanted to explore. In a couple days I reached Radagast's house but it seemed he ate too many bad mushrooms and his mind was not quite there so I left early to head towards the Shire. I followed the outskirts of the road so I would not bring too much attention to myself and I wore my cloak so if I ran into other travelers they would not know me to be a woman. After a few days of traveling I decided to make camp. I hunted a couple of rabbits and ate them with some vegetables I scavenged up for dinner. Radagast would be displeased by my choice of food, but I think they make much better food than a transportation option.

Not wanting to draw attention to myself I put the fire out and climbed a nearby tree near where Cimmerian was grazing. I secured myself in the tree and drifted off to sleep while gazing at the stars. Sleeping in trees I found to be the safest option and I eventually got used to it. You are less vulnerable up in the air then on the ground.

After a few hours of beauty sleep I was rudely awakened by the screams of men. I heard it to the west off in the forest. Being concerned I quietly got down from my tree and told Cimmerian to stay until I called for her. She was a smart and loyal horse and would come when I called for her. I walked quietly and sneaked behind the overgrowth of the forest until up ahead I saw I large fire and heard more commotion. To figure out what was going on I focused my mind on listening to their thoughts which was quite interesting.

One thought was **"why do we have to cook em', we can just eat them raw."** The next one was **"That damn hobbit got us caught now my men and I will be eaten by trolls." **There were too many thoughts and it became too hard to decipher them so I shut them out. I got the jist of the situation from what little I heard.

Very interesting I thought. So we have a hobbit, trolls, and a group of men which it seems are on the menu tonight. Seeing there is little I could do to help since it was just me what I should have done is sneak back to camp and leave the poor fools to their fate, but of course not. I did not spend my time saving lives and caring for the sick with my time on Earth and Middle Earth to leave these men to this fate. I quietly snuck around to get a better look at the scene and before me was many men in their underwear being roasted over the fire and then others were in a pile tied in bags. Seeing a dark haired man with silver going through his long hair nearest me in a bag I decided to sneak up and approach him.

Being as stealthy as possible, which is as stealthy as a fish on land, I crawled behind him. Luckily trolls are stupid and almost blind. He noticed my presence and suspiciously glared at me, but I ignored this response "Sir" I said in a hushed voice "I am going to untie you so you can untie your other men. Try and move slow and quietly so the trolls will not see after I untie you."

Agreeing to my plan his eyes softened and he nodded. His bonds were tight, but I managed to cut them loose and then I further assisted him out of his sack. To my surprise he followed me back into the forest. When I was next to him I was shocked at how short he was. "May I have the name of the women who saved me" he asked while looking me over.

"My name is Lilliana and I was traveling by when I came across you and your men. May I ask you name."

"I am Thorin Okenshield son of Thrain." He said so proudly with a hint of arrogance. Great this one just loves himself.

"Do you have a plan on how to get the rest of your men out of this Thorin son of Thrain?" I asked with a sly smile, but I was interrupted by hearing a familiar voice in my head. It cannot be Gandalf. I had to stop myself from jumping up and down with joy and tried to hold my excitement in when I asked Thorin "Are you traveling with Gandalf the Gray?"

Looking confused at me knowing this he glared at me again " We are, but how have you come by this knowledge?!" He said more demanding for an answer then asking.

Rolling my eyes I ignored his question and responded "That does not matter at this time. Was he captured with you?"

" No he wasn't." He said as he was still glaring. You save a guy and this is how he treats you.

"Just listen, stay in the shadows and release your men like I did with you. I will go and find Gandalf and bring him back here. He will know what to do." I ran off before the grumpy short man could argue. Blocking out all of the other voices I focused on Gandalf. He was near and he knew I was too which is why he probably let me into his thoughts. He usually would block me with his magic which was no fun for me.

After sneaking in the underbrush I was out of sight of the trolls and got up and ran to where Gandalf was. When I saw him I leaped and gave him a tight hug. It had been ages since I have seen this old man.

"My dear, what on Middle Earth are you doing here? I was actually on my way to Rivendell and was hoping you would be there. I had something to discuss with you." His smile faded as he noted I was not as ease. "Why are you here…tell me my girl what has happened?" I told him how I ran into the men and the situation they got themselves in. He listened and we immediately took off in that direction. We snuck behind some big boulders just as the sun was beginning to rise. Gandalf leaped on top of the largest boulder and yelled "The dawn will take you all". As this happened the rock split letting the light rays from the sun through the crack in the boulder. It shined onto the trolls making them scream in pain and solidly to stone. That was quite a bit of an adventure I thought. Now I was ready to be on my way, or so I thought.

"Where are you going Lady Lilliana, I would like you to meet the company of Thorin Oakenshield." I followed him stomping my feet in protest which went unnoticed. I had no interest in meeting the rest of them after meeting their leader who was so arrogant and rude. Guess I will just subjugate myself to his charm again.

Thorin looked towards Gandalf and started approaching him and asked " Where did you go to if I may ask?"

"To look ahead" Gandalf replied.

Looking skeptical Thorin asked " And what brought you back?"

"Looking behind. This was some nasty business but all of you are safe." Gandalf smiled as he looked around at the little men and the trolls that were now grotesque statues of stone.

"This would not have happened if it was not for your burglar" Thorin accusingly stated.

Not paying Thorin much attention he just replied "He had the idea to play for time. None of you thought of that...Strange for trolls to be over here" Gandalf said to change the subject. "There must be a cave nearby."

Feeling like I was completely forgotten I just quietly listened. I looked around and noticed all the men were short with long beards and hair. This was starting to feel awkward and I did not like being around this many people, especially men. I really wanted to leave so I felt the need to clear my throat more loudly them was necessary. This brought the attention back to the moment. Now I can meet everyone as Gandalf requested and then leave.

Gandalf immediately looked at me at then spoke to Thorin "I see you have had the pleasure of meeting the Lady Lilliana. She is known by other names, and she is one of a kind." He looked at me and winked. Great, the old wizard is doing what he does best and that is meddling in other people's lives without permission. What is he up to this time I thought to myself?

I hated this kind of attention that Gandalf was bringing to me and now Thorin was eying me up again taking too much notice in my appearance. " Are you and elf?" He practically yelled at me as he crossed his arms.

"No, I am not." I yelled back as I crossed my arms and glared right back at him.

Thorin looks over to Gandalf who nods at him to verify what I say." If she is not an elf then I would inquire why a lady is out here unattended. It is not right." Either way this guy had it out for me it seemed. I should have let the trolls squash his ungrateful ass into jelly.

Gandalf seemed to agree with Thorin so then they both stared at me waiting for me to answer. "Well, I am just traveling on my way to the Shire. I do not need an escort. I can handle myself better than you can as you obviously witnessed Master Throin." Proud of my comeback I tried not to smirk. Gandalf could not help but chuckle and Thorin ended up thanking me for my assistance rather ungratefully.

Gandalf introduced me to all the rest of the men, but there were way too many for me to remember. "There is Balin, Dwalin, Oin, Gloin, Ori, Dori, Nori, Bifur, Bofur, Bombur, Kili, Fili, and the hobbit Bilbo." Gandalf ranted off each name way too quickly. "And this is the Lady Lilliana." He announced to the company with pride. I think I just remembered the hobbits name and that's it. They all came up and introduced themselves.

The one with the funny hat winked at me and the young one with the brown long hair kissed my hand. When a blonde one came up to me he looked a little shy. Maybe it was because I was taller than him. "Lady Lilliana it is a pleasure to meet you" he said. "Thank you again for saving us, we are all in your debt. But do you mind me asking where your husband is?

I had to remember how old fashioned this world is compared to the one where I am from so I learned how to kindly respond to this comment with a rational answer then sarcastic humor. "I do not have a husband, and I travel alone." Is all I said and I left it at that. He seemed like he wanted to follow me when I walked away, but he stopped himself.

Gandalf asked me to go to the cave with them and I was taken aback by the stench. I stayed out of the cave as I watched the little men go in a have a look around. I decided to sit by the hobbit since out of the bunch he seemed harmless.

"Bilbo, right?" I asked with a smile.

"Of yes miss Lilianna. I have to thank you for helping us out of that rather unpleasant situation," he replied rather friendly. He was cute and so short. The feet where something too.

"You're welcome, but I heard how you distracted those trolls. That was quite brave." He blushed and waved off my comment.

Now all the little men were out of the cave and we started walking back towards the road. I was about ready to turn and say goodbye to Gandalf, but then we all were startled by a loud ruckus just beyond our view. Unexpectantly there was Radagast and his rabbits. He looked alarmed, but with seeing Gandalf he calmed down and then he noticed me. He immediately came to greet me. "Lilliana, so great to see you again. I thought you were off to the Shire though?"

"I was until I ran into this bunch!" I announced.

"I can see you have met some interesting company my dear, but I would not recommend that you wander in these woods for too much longer for I have seen some danger." He continued to tell me to either go back to his house or to Rivendell and I said I would think about it. He is so paternal.

He redirected his attention back to Gandalf. I was trying to listen, but all I wanted to do was leave. Since I did not want to be rude I figured I would just wait for Gandalf and Radagast to finish speaking so I could say good bye before I took off.

As I was standing there I could not but help notice the two younger little men continuously glancing in my direction. Their staring was getting irritating and they finally decided to approach me. The darker haired one approached first with a cheesy smile. He only came up to my nose so he was looking up at me. "Hi Lady Lilliana, my brother and I noticed you carry weapons with you. Do you know how to wield them?"

" Yes I do, but with all skills there always can be improvement." I replied because I do not believe in being arrogant even if you are skilled in something.

This got his attention and he glanced back at his blonde friend who was even shorter with a smile. This was the sexist one I thought. I had a feeling the brunette was up to something, but luckily Thorin saw this and called the brunette over to him to help with something. This left me alone with the blonde one. I decided to just take a seat on a nearby rock and thought he would walk away, but instead he followed me and continued staring. I swear these men have no manners.  
Wondering what was so interesting I asked "Can you please tell me why you keep staring at me?"

I felt bad for being so blunt since he seemed lost for words. He looked down and bit his lip while he fingered something on his sleeve before replying. "It is just we were wondering what you were. We thought you were an elf, but your ears are not elf ears, and ..." He paused looking quite embarrassed.

I released he was just young and curious so I gently said "It's ok. And no, I am not an elf. I resemble humans mostly." I said this going off what Lady Galadriel told me with not exactly being human anymore, but I was born human so that is how I will identify myself.

The poor thing looked even more confused with that answer though, and he still could not stop looking at me. He eventually quietly sat by me as we waited for the wizards to finish conversing. While we were waiting we heard a growl off into the distance which got us all on our feet.

Bilbo yelled "Is that a wolf?" He looked petrified.

The little man with the funny hat replied "No, that was no wolf."

Out of nowhere a warg came from behind Thorin and the young brunette shot his arrow into the beast. The blonde man and I stood there and he then protectively started to try and push me behind him. I yelled for Cimmerian who came running out of the brush. When she approached I was about to jump on when Throin yelled to get their ponies, and another man yelled they cannot because they ran off. I knew I could not leave this group. It was amazing they were still alive with all the trouble they seems to get themselves in. I yelled at Cimmerian to head back to Rivendell since that is the direction Gandalf voiced in my head stating that that is where they were headed. It would not help being chased by wargs if we only had one horse. Radagast as the brave soul he is volunteered himself and his rabbits to be a distraction so we could run.

Right before we ran off the young blonde man grabbed my hand and started dragging me along which startled me. I was not used to being treated like a damsel in distress, but I followed along. We ducked beneath rocks and ran across fields until we were behind a large rock. Above us we heard a warg with an Orc on its back. The young brunette shot him with an arrow and the beasts fell before us. The men tried to kill the beasts quickly, but they made too much noise. This got the attention of all the wargs and orcs so we ran and ended up being surrounded by them.

One of the men yelled that Gandalf had abandoned us which I knew was not true. Gandalf kept talking to me psychically about his plan which was brilliant. Soon Gandalf yelled "This way you fools." Everyone followed, but the blond and brunette stayed behind and did not jump down into the passageway when they should have. Instead they stayed on top and kept fighting as if they had something to prove.

I stayed at the mouth of the cave waiting for them and noticed that a warg was running up to them ready to attack. Sighing to myself thinking "stupid young men are going to get themselves killed" followed by a quick prayer I ran out wielding my dual swords. The warg pounced on the blonde dwarf who barley was keeping the wargs fangs away from his face. I ran up and sliced my blade into the wargs ribs. The beast yelped in pain and turned quickly around catching me off guard. He bit into my left upper thigh and all I felt was searing pain from the force of the bite. Then I took my sword and managed one last strike to get myself out of his jaws. I fought through the pain and took him down. I yelled for the men to get to the cave and as I slid down last I was caught by the blonde.

"These dumb, reckless men. At least they were safe" I thought. I knew my wounds would be lethal for the average living anything, but with my healing abilities I knew they would heal in a few hours and by tomorrow there would not even be a scar. I have been hurt and injured so many times, but you would never know because there were no marks. The blond set me down "Lilliana... Talk to me, are you okay!" he voiced while holding onto me tight.

This one was a smart one. I get bite by an oversized dog, and he is asking me if I am okay. Luckily my tunic was dark so they could not see all the blood. At this point I am being surrounded by the brunette, Thorin, and Gandalf. Thorin looked annoyed and started complaining to Gandalf, but I ignored him.

Gandalf just looked at me and nodded. I told him through my weird talent that I would be fine and that this would be healed in a couple hours. "She will be just fine "Gandalf reiterated to the men my thoughts that I just shared with him.

I hear one say "There is a path this way, should we follow it." Another one replies "Of course, but let's wait a minute. We need to help Lilianna."

It was the dwarf with the funny hat. He approached and smiled down at me. He was trying to assess my injuries. The blond did not seem happy to let anyone near me which I found quite strange. "My Lady, would you mind if one of us carried you to somewhere safe. I fear you might get injured further if you walk."

Through the pain I smiled and thanked him for his generosity. When it came down to who would carry me the blonde did not give anyone else a chance to offer. He just gently lifted me. I was surprised by how strong he was since he had such a short stature. It must of looked funny him carrying me, but I was not going to complain with the pain I was feeling.

When he lifted me a gasp escaped my lips since being moved created more pain. "Lady Lillianna, I am sorry. Did I hurt you?" He looked so concerned.

"No you did not. Just moving hurts, but I will be okay so think nothing of it" He apparently did not like my answer or my lack of concern for my wellbeing and decided to hold me closer to him so my body would be more secure against him. I rested my head on his shoulder and closed my eyes trying to drown out all of their thoughts. I have learned you do not want to just go around reading people's minds no matter how tempting. You will hear and learn many things that you never wanted to.

As we came out into the open we were on a ledge looking over Rivendell. Gandalf looked onto the city and said "This is the last homely house to the east. The Valley of Imladris. In the common tongue, it's known by another name."

Bilbo was entranced by the scene in front of us and he softly finished the wizards sentence "Rivendell."

Thorin was pissed. "This was your plan all along wizard, to seek refuge with our enemy" he growled at Gandalf.

"You have no enemies here, Thorin Oakenshield. The only ill-will to be found in this valley is that which you bring yourself." Gandalf was losing his patience, but hid it well.

"You think the Elves will give our quest their blessing? They will try to stop us." Thorin was glaring daggers into the wizard

"Of course, they will. But we have questions that need to be answered. If we are to be successful this will need to be handled with tact, and respect, and no small degree of charm, which is why you will leave the talking to me. Besides, Lady Liilana could use some assistance" Gandalf stated and started to walk down the narrow path.

Thorin looked back at Lilianna who was still in his nephews arms and he had to agree with the wizard. This young woman just risked her life to save both his nephews and for that he owed her everything. He decided he would thank her after she was better.


	8. Chapter 8

Lillianna already felt her body healing itself and the pain had decreased so she started to take more notice into her surroundings. She felt the strong embrace of the blonde man who was carrying her and she realized she forgot his name. Not wanting to read his thoughts she decided to just ask.

"I am sorry, but it seems I have forgotten your name" she asked softly.

He looked down at her and shyly smiled. "My name is Fili."

"Who is the brunette that was by you earlier?" She figured she might as well try and get to know them since she is obviously not leaving for the Shire now.

"That would be my younger brother Kili." He paused and looked back down into Lilliana's deep green eyes which reminded him of the forest "How are you feeling?"

Hearing the concern in his voice I decided to tell the truth "Painful, but it will be okay. Thank you for carrying me."

He looked a little confused "You are welcome, but there is no need to thank me. I owe you my life and the life of my brother. This is the least I can do."

Realizing that he was not up for conversation I just rested my head on his shoulder and closed my eyes. His brother was just walking in front of us and would sometimes turn around and study his elder brother. I assume this is not his brother's usual behavior. As we went down the path Gandalf saw Lindir walking down the stairs and they greeted each other. Soon horses and elves came down from the adjacent path on their large horses obviously startling the little men because they formed into a circle with me in the middle. Being squished in between them added pressure onto my wounds and increased the pain I was feeling. Finally I could see Lord Eldrond who aproached Gandalf "Strange for Orcs to come so close to our borders. Something or someone has drawn them near." He says to Gandalf.

In a very friendly tone Gandalf replied"That may have been us." And he proceeds to introduce Thorin to Lord Eldrond.

"Welcome, Thorin, son of Thrain." Lord Elrond greeted the grumpy man.

"I do not believe we have met."

"You have your grandfather's bearing. I knew Thror when he ruled Under the Mountain." Lord Eldrong attempted to make a nice gesture but Mr. Grumpy would not have. I was glad to see he was so charming to everyone.

"Indeed? He made no mention of you." Thorin replied in his charming way. Obviously giving up on trying being polite hLord Eldrond noticed me in the blonde man's arms and he demanded that the little man come forward with me. Another elf came to take me from Fili's, but he was not going to let that happen.

"Wherever you are taking her I will carry her and follow." What the hell is this guy's problem I thought? Why is he being so protective? Thorin did not look annoyed with his protective behavior towards me. He just nodded at Fili supporting his actions. Maybe I am not good at reading situations all the time but this was definitely one of those weird sexist things with the men protecting their women. I hated this. Lord Eldrond psychically asked me if it was safe for him to escort me and I replied yes, so he allowed it. I just wanted this to all stop so I could sleep away my injuries.

He kept a tight grip on me and he was lead to my old quarters in Rivendell. We were greeted by Aelrue who talked Fili into putting me down on the bed, but he still did not leave. Aelrue started to help me undress so we could look at the wounds and he just approached the other side so he could look as well. "Is there anything I can do" Fili asked Aelrue with concern.

"There is nothing, she will be fine" she stated to him kindly.

He seemed so concerned and he did not seem to want to leave. "Fili if you want to stay can you just turn around so Aelrue can help me change and dress the wounds."

Fili nodded reluctantly and turned around. Anytime I would make a noise he would almost turn around, yell at Aelrue to be more gentle, or stiffen up. He really needed to learn to relax. The wounds were nasty, but they would heal completely as usual. She helped me dress into something that covered my tattoos. When she was done I told her psychically **"You can leave us alone. He is harmless. I saved him and his brother and I think he is just concerned."**

Aelrue responded to my thought. **"This behavior is not normal for dwarves with anyone then their own kin, but if you think it safe I will not be far away."**

Stunned by hearing dwarf I psychically sent her another thought. **"Dwarf? Is this a race that I never heard of yet?"  
**  
She looked confused and then realized that they never spoke of dwarves. **"They are their own race. They are short and strong. They have an extreme love for gold and are very protective of their wealth, family, and especially their women. Let me know if you need me because this one has seemed to make some type of claim to you." **Aelrue gave me a wicked smile while she finished securing the bandages and buttoning the back of my dress. She chose a Burgundy colored elven gown to put me in which showed off more skin then I wanted and it barely covered the tattoos.. Aelrue took my bloody clothes from the room and told the dwarf that he could turn around and she left.

Fili turned and came towards me. He looked around the room where he spotted a chair and brought it to the side of my bed and sat there. He gently took my hand into his and with his other hand brushed away some hair off of my face. "Thank you for saving me and my brother again" he softly spoke. He seemed very nervous to be this close to me. You would think that he has never been this close to a woman before.

"It really was no big deal. I just did what I hope anyone else would do... where are you guys headed anyway?" My curiosity as usual was getting the best of me.

He looked away as if I asked something that he could not answer. After a moment's pause he reluctantly responded "To take back our home Erebor. It is also named The Lonely Mountain. Please do not speak of it to anyone though." He could not help it. He felt he could trust her. He could not understand why he was feeling like this. He had never felt like this before for anyone especially for a woman. Dwarves he has been told only fall in love once in their life and it works as if it is love at first site, but this cannot be. Or could it.

Lilliana's toughts were not on the dwarf, but on the quest he mentioned. Out of nowhere she remembered something when Fili mentioned Erebor. This quest that these dwarves are on is part of a story in her world. She saw the first two movies, but cannot remember the rest except in the end this sweet dwarf dies. Feeling distraught from this realization Fili automatically picked up on her distress and looked at her with concern. She replied to Fili "I will not speak of this to anyone, but do you mind giving me some time alone. I am feeling very tired and would like to rest." She paused for a second as Fili looked at her with concern. "Also can you ask Gandalf to come and see me soon? Tell him I have something that I need to discuss with him immediately." Fili just nodded not wanting to leave her side. He leaned down and kissed her hand to say good bye. Before exiting through the door he asked "Can I come and visit you later Lady Lilliana?"

"Of course Fili..." This request of his warmed her heart for some reason. She thought to herself I guess he is not a sexist pig after all, but a real gentleman. The dwarf smiled and left leaving Lilliana to her thoughts on the forgotten story from her world.

Fili returned to the Company and found them eating and complaining about the music and the food. When they saw him they were all asking how the lass was doing. When he said she would heal they all looked relieved including Thorin. Fili then overheard some of the companies conversations as he passed them to sit next to his brother including "I do not like green food."

He looked over at Gandalf and decided that he would deliver Lillana's message when he was not so busy. Kili saw Fili coming to sit by him and immediately jested with a smile "How is your women fairing brother? Are you courting yet?" Not being in the mood for this Fili punched Kili in the arm and threw some food at him. Kili took this as a challenge and immediately started wresting around on the ground with his brother. Bofur decided that this gathering needed to become livelier and got up and started singing. All the other dwarves joined in and started a food fight as well. The elves were not impressed, but Lord Eldrond looked somewhat amused. This is behavior he expected from dwarves.

As the festivities settled down Gandalf walked away onto a nearby balcony. Fili noticed this and approached Galdalf. "Gandalf, do you know Lady Lilliana?"

Gandalf turned around and smiled to himself. "Yes I do young lad, but I am afraid if you want to know anything about her you will have to ask her yourself."

Fili thought for a moment and asked one more question "Could you at least let me know what race she is? She only said she was more like the humans." He just wanted to make sure she was not an elf since he knew that Thorin would never approve then.

"She has no race really, but she was born of man. She is something unique."

Being relieved that Liliana was not an elf he remembered what she asked of him. "Gandalf, one last thing. Lilliana said she needed to see you right away. Something she needs to discuss with you she said." As Fili finished Gandalf overheard Lillianna try to psychically reach him and he picked up it had something to do with their quest. He thanked Fili and immediately left to see Lilliana.

After knocking and entering her room he noticed how distressed she looked. He immediately sat down next to her. "My dear, what is wrong?"

Too upset to put the words together he reached for her hand. She showed him her world and the story of their quest through words and images. He saw the companies' fate and saw the death of Thorin and his nephews. Alarmed by this news he let go of Lilliana's hand. "This cannot be… but I guess it is because you just showed me proof. I am going to ask you something that will be a hard decision for you. I need you to go with them so they can avoid this fate? Originally that was my intention with bringing them here in hopes you would join us, but now I fear you may be their only hope "

Lilliana was wondering how she can prevent this. She had only limited skills. How can she save or prevent the death of three people. "I know you can do this. You are strong and they need to be successful on this quest." Gandalf spoke again determined knowing she was thinking hard about what he was asking of her.

Not knowing what to think Lilliana just nodded. Gandalf spoke again "I will bring Thorin in here and I want you to tell him everything about you, about your knowledge of his quest and of the predicted deaths of him and his nephews using your gift. Without full disclosure on who you are and what you know he will not trust in you and will not let you come."

Lilliana just nodded again. She hated people to know what she was, but it seemed necessary.

Gandalf returned with Thorin. She heard him arguing with him as they approached her door. "What information is so important for me to hear from someone who is friends with our enemy? If she is friends with elves she is also my enemy" Thorin vehemently said to Gandalf.

"Lilliana is not your enemy and you will hear what she has to say. She is an asset to this quest and you will not make it without her and her knowledge." Gandalf yelled right back at him. He does not take any nonsense that is for sure she thought after over hearing this.

They entered in her room and reluctantly Thorin sat down next to Lilliana. Gandalf put Thorin's hand in hers and she showed him everything from before she arrived in Middle Earth to how she got there and everything else that had occurred over the past two years. Thorin surprisingly never let go of her hand, but held it tighter. When she was done Lilliana tried to bring her hand back to her side, but Throin would not let go. Instead he just sympathetically looked at her for everything she went through and was shocked by the knowledge she had about his quest.

"I am sorry for mistreating you and not trusting you." Thorin said. " I also owe you thanks for saving my nephews. I ask that you will join my quest for I fear if you do not my nephews will be lost." He pleadingly looked at her. He looked just as disturbed as she did, actually even more. Knowing he could lose his nephews was too much for him to bear. I guess he is not as bad as I thought. He actually has a heart she thought.

Lilliana looked at Thorin who was near tears and she squeezed his hand. "I will join you."

Thorin looked relieved and then asked "How are your wounds?"

"They are almost completely healed." She looked confused at this question since she disclosed her self-healing ability to him as well as all information about herself.

"So all you said is true. We will leave so you can sleep and regain your strength. After the map is read my company will leave early in the morning so we can sneak out and you and Gandalf will then meet us in the mountains. We do not want anyone getting suspicious of us. Lord Eldrond said that the moon we need will not be upon us for eight more nights so we will leave then" Thorin obviously has escaped places before she thought and they all agreed on this plan and they left Lilliana alone with her thoughts.

Later that day Ruith heard from Aelrue about Lilliana and her injuries. He immediately came to visit her. He arrived as a dwarf and Gandalf were leaving her chambers. He went in and looked annoyed from the company that just left her. "What kind of company have you been keeping. What are you doing with those dwarves? "He demanded.

Being surprised at this unexpected intrusion into her chambers she yelled "Ruith that is not your business. What brought on this kind of behavior from you anyway? Acting like this is not like you?" His outburst made her irritated and she knew this was not typical behavior for him.

He looked down at the floor realizing he overreacted. "I am sorry. I overreacted. I just heard you were hurt and I became worried... Then I saw them leaving your room and..." He was scared that he had angered her now. It was so hard to get her trust and he did not want to lose it.

"Ruith, you know I am not hurt easily and that I heal quickly. I thank you for your concern but I promise I am just fine." Lilianna got up and walked over to him. She put her arms around his waist and looked up at him with a loving smile. He returned the hug and they stayed like that for a while.

"You are going to be the death of me... Just promise you will stay safe" he asked knowing that is a promise no one could really make.

"I will try" she whispered. They ended their embrace and Ruith left since Lilliana wanted to be alone.


	9. Chapter 9

Lilliana waking up after a few hours of sleep felt as if her wounds might have healed. She also felt less of an emotional weight on her shoulders after disclosing to Thorin what she knew, but she was not sure that she liked that she agreed to join them on this quest. Lilliana never liked being around a lot of people, but she figured it might be good for her. She had always been too antisocial and was a pure introvert which on Earth was not admired as much as extroversion.

Moving from her position on the bed she easily turned to her injured side and felt no pain so she proceeded to sit up. Sitting at the edge of the bed until the dizziness passed she then proceeded to gingerly stand and slowly walk to the washroom. She started a bath and took off the gown that Aelrue put her in. Aelrue would not be pleased in knowing she fell asleep in it, but what did she expect. After injuries like those anyone would automatically go to sleep. Lilliana then continued to remove the bloodied bandages and exposed the skin. Unable to tell what it looked like since her skin was all stained with dried up blood she gently eased herself into the tub when it was full and wiped the blood from the area. Yep, all healed she thought. She finished washing herself and got dressed in a black elven dress with long sleeves. If it was up to Lilliana her entire wardrobe would be black and gray, but Aelrue would never allow it.

After she was dressed and brushed out her hair she was thinking that Aelrue had been gone for a long time. As she was thinking this there was a knock on her door "Speaking of the devil" she thought. She went to unlock the door to let her in when she was surprised that it was not Aelrue and her eyes were drawn downward to look at who was there. It was Fili…thinking this was strange and then she remembered he asked if he could come by again later.

As she stood before Fili he looked surprised to see her up and looking like nothing happened. This could not be possible he thought? She was injured quite severely. Realizing he was just standing there awkwardly staring and never said anything he looked up at her and said "Good evening my Lady, I hope I am not disturbing you. I just wanted to see how you were fairing?"

Seeing his confusion she decided that she should try and make an excuse to get him to leave otherwise she might have to explain why she was completely recovered. "I am feeling much better, but still feeling a little weak. I thank you for stopping by, but I probably should head back to bed." She said rather too quickly.

Fili knew something was up and looked at her suspiciously. "Really you look much better to me." He said as he intently looker her over. Even her coloring was back to normal.

He was not going to go away so instead of fighting it she just took in a deep sigh, admitted defeat and invited him in. She figured she would be traveling with the company so she could not start off on the wrong foot with them. After inviting him in she lead him out onto a bench on her balcony overlooking the waterfall. Under the moonlight Fili could not help but notice how beautiful she was, and he tried not to stare.

While following her out onto the balcony he thought about how much better she looked and then he remembered hearing about the healing powers of the elves. He figured they performed some kind of magic on her wounds which would explain her quick recovery. "The elves appear to have taken good care to heal your wounds." he said.

Realizing he just gave her a way out of explaining she just agreed "There skills are quite remarkable." This was not a lie since she had witnessed and learned some of the healing tricks of the elves. In between training with Ruith she helped out in the infirmary taking care of the sick and injured since it was second nature work for her and she learned much from the elves and they learned much from her as well when it came to healing.

They both sat outside enjoying the view of the waterfall and the coolness of the evening, but Fili was not just eying the view from what Lilliana could tell. This made her think of what Aelrue told her about dwarf behavior and she quickly decided that it was ridiculous. He was just being a gentlemen and that was it. Aelrue knew how she felt about the idea of marriage and relationships and she was just having some fun with her as she has done in the past when she would purposely tease her about Ruith.

Lilliana and Fili exchanged some small talk about the weather and the view to fill in some of the silence when Fili asked "I overheard that my uncle came to visit you and he left looking rather concerned about something. What was that about?" He looked up at her and gently took her hand which only caught Lilliana off guard and she forgot about his question momentarily.

"Umm, he just came to see how I was doing." She responded after a long pause. She decided he would find out some of what happened eventually anyway. "And… Gandalf and Thorin decided I should go with your company on your quest to Erebor." She then further added.

Upon hearing this Fili's expression turned to one of shock and he looked down at the ground as if in deep thought. "I knew something happened, but…" he was going to say there seemed to be more to it than that, but decided that now was not the time to pry too much. He straightened back up and looked at her" It will be an honor to have you with us and my brother and I will make sure nothing happens to you."

Lilliana hearing this was slightly offended and amused since it was this group of men who seemed to have a talent in getting themselves into deadly situations. It also seemed Fili and Kili might be the cause of some of these occurrences after hearing how they got caught by the trolls in the first place and so Lilliana suppressed a laugh. Thinking this she could not help but to reply. "Are you sure it would not be me protecting you men from yourselves which has been the case since I ran into all of you." She said with a genuine grin. Fili realizing the truth behind her words blushed and returned her smile. "So, how did you tough men get caught by three mountain trolls anyway?" she inquired.

Fili realizing he was not getting out of this one started by explaining how he and Kili were supposed to be watching the ponies. After an hour they became very bored and Kili and his brother debated about if Kili was more accurate with his bow then Fili was with his throwing knives. Deciding to settle it they went slightly away from the ponies to resolve this debate and when they returned they realized some of the ponies were missing. Fili then told Lilliana how they sent poor Bilbo to get the ponies from the trolls and that they were too scared to tell Thorin what happened. While he was telling her this story he watched how she laughed and her eyes lit up at certain parts of his story. He usually would never tell anyone about the mischief he and Kili got into, but he felt that he wanted to talk to her and share things with her.

Lilliana was near tears with laughter by the end. These two were very much like a couple of teenagers and she wondered how old they were. With this kind of behavior they could not be any older than 21 in human years. She knew that many of the races lived longer then on Earth so she tried to compare ages and behaviors associated with those ages to human years. When she got her composure back she asked "So is this the only time your mischief has gotten you put into this kind of trouble or is this a normal occurrence?"

Liliana was quite amused when Fili's expression turned almost guilty "Well, my Lady Lilliana. I cannot lie, but with it just being my brother and I and never leaving the Blue Mountains except a few times to travel to a couple of the towns nearby things would get a little boring."

They talked for most of the night since Lilliana was quite interested in hearing about Fili and Kili's mischief. She also knew nothing about the dwarves so she asked about their lifestyle, traditions and beliefs, and what the Blue Mountains were like. Fili also enjoyed talking about his home that he missed. He also told her about his mother Dis and Thorin.

After a few hours Fili finished telling Lilliana how Erebor was taken by Smaug and he realized she never once spoke about herself during this entire time and he remembered what Gandalf said to him that if he wanted to know anything about her he would have to ask. "Lilliana, during these few hours you never once told me about yourself and with you not being an elf I know you are not originally from Rivendell. If you do not mind me asking… where are you originally from and do you have any family?"

As he asked this Lilliana could tell he was genuinely interested and she had to tell him something even though this was a sore subject for her. She let in a deep sigh and looked away from Fili and gazed deeply into the waterfall. After a pause she answered "I am from somewhere very far from here where the only race that resides there is man and there is no magic. My family is still there and I have no way of returning as far as anyone knows. I woke up around here two years ago and have been taken in and taught how to survive here by the elves, wizards and other friends I have made." She thought that should cover things for a little while. She felt that her secrets should not come out just yet.

Fili's heart went out to her. He did not know she was alone here like she is and knew that if he were to be separated from his home and family such as she described it would have devastated him. "Can you tell me of your family? If you do not wish to speak of them I understand." He added.

Lilliana took her hand away from Fili's and stood and walked to the edge of the balcony. Fili being nervous he asked something he should not have asked followed behind her and stood next to her. Lilliana noticing this looked down at him and gave him a small smile to reassure him since she felt his uneasiness. "I have a brother and a sister. Both are married with children. Being an aunt has been wonderful. My mother and father are also still alive, but my father has remarried and my mom never has."

Thinking this strange Fili asked "What do you mean your Father has another wife?" He looked so confused.

Knowing that this world is very traditional Lilliana explained "Where I am from half of all marriages end in divorce so it is normal to meet people who are divorced and remarry. Sometimes this can happen many times in a person's life. Other couples do not marry, but live with each other as if they were and other people just go around and casually be with other people temporarily and move on. I do not think that these ways are good, but that is how it is there."

Fili thinking about what Lilliana said he realized she had been so distant and secretive possibly from negative experiences she had from where she was from. This made him sad and angry thinking that this beautiful kind woman might not have been treated with respect and he wanted to know more. "Your father and family in that harsh place you lived in at least cared for and protected you… right?"

Lilliana chuckled from this question and at how concerned Fili looked. "No Fili, I was on my own from when I was still very young. I cared for and stood up for myself and lived on my own. Independence and self-sufficiency is valued and encouraged especially in my family so both women and men fend for themselves. Some families are not like that, but mine was and it made me a stronger person."

Not liking this answer and going by the information she gave him he asked something that he would regret asking. "Where you ever married or involved in one of these relationships you mentioned that are common from where you are from?"

Lilliana taken back by his directness paused for a long moment. "I was married before…but it ended years ago and I have been involved with others, but nothing ever came out of it. As far as why the marriage did not work, it was due to the fact that he was an abusive drunk. " She spoke softly. She was surprised she shared this with him and why did she share this. Never in her life has she so easily give out information that was so personal to someone whom she only has known for such a short time.

Fili upon hearing this was dumbfounded and angered by what he had just heard. He responded to Lilliana with deep emotion thinking how people could dare treat her as she has been treated in her life. How dare her family abandon her and leave her to fend for herself. And how can her once husband not cherish and protect her.

"I am so sorry…" he said as he drew himself closer to her." That way of living that you described is terrible and unfair. Here… or at least with us dwarfs we only fall in love once in our life and it lasts a lifetime. Unfortunately most of us do not find love and never marry, but when we do it is strong and forever lasting. Where you are from it sounds as if they have no respect for women while we cherish them." He finished while lifting his hand and putting it on Lilliana's cheek to get her to look at him. "Lilliana, we will all respect you and care for you. You can count on that and you can trust us and me. You are no longer on your own in life. I will make sure of it! "

Fili looked deep into Lilliana's eyes and she could not help herself… she read his mind for a second to see if what he spoke was truly genuine and it was. A tear escaped her and Fili rubbed it away with his hand that was still resting on her cheek. Lilliana was now thinking could Aelrue be right. This young dwarf now made her all emotional and she never got emotional. She always kept control of her emotions, but this did feel different. She looked back into his eyes and just said "Thank you Fili. " There was nothing else that could be said. She let her guard down with someone who genuinely was concerned for her welfare and she actually felt okay with it. She did not feel her usual reaction which was to withdraw and run away and hide.

They stood there for a while and eventually spoke a little more before they decided it was time to call it a night. While Fili was leaving, which he was having difficulty doing, he asked "Can I come and spend tomorrow with you?" He asked apprehensively not wanting to be rejected.

"Of course and... Goodnight Fili" She replied.

Fili could not help but leave with a huge grin on his face and this warmed her heart. Fili was jealous to know of her extensive involvement with men, but he knew he could not put it against her since where she was from it was normal and not looked down upon. If anything it just made him want to care and protect her even more.

After he walked out Lilliana fell backwards onto her bed and smacked her hand onto her forehead thinking "What the hell just happened and what am I doing."


End file.
